Cost of Admission: Members Free, suggested donation of $10 for non-members.

This is an in-person, indoor and outdoor program.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS PROGRAM

oin us for a  lively, illustrated introduction to the diversity, ecology and conservation of regional fireflies and bats, including tips on how to study them in the field. This will be followed by a chance to put those tips into action with a sunset outing to nearby parts of the Arboretum, where we will use flash patterns, firefly netting, bat call recording, and perhaps even a little spotlighting to tap into the natural history of these two groups.

Conrad Vispo (PhD Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin; MS Wildlife Ecology, Indiana State University; BS Wildlife Ecology, Cornell) Before returning to Columbia County, where he grew up, Conrad conducted ecological research on a variety of organisms, including mammals, birds and fish in a variety of places, including the woods of northern Wisconsin and tropical Venezuela. Conrad’s recent focus is on agroecology - what habitats can farmland provide for native species and, in turn, what can those native species provide to farming? Conrad’s passion is understanding historical and modern patterns of animal (including human) ecology on the land.

Kyle Bradford (MS Conservation Biology, Antioch University New England; BS Environmental Science, University of Vermont. Kyle realized his passion for insects, field biology, and landscape history as an FEP intern in 2012. After a stint as FEP’s technician, focusing on ant surveys in Columbia County, Kyle then worked on insect pest detection in California vineyards before moving back east for graduate school. In graduate school, he studied ants in the pine barrens of western Massachusetts. Kyle’s interests include the ecology of human-managed habitats, insect ecology and biogeography (especially that of ants), landscape history and how it can inform contemporary conservation practice, and rare organism conservation.